Outback 4500 lb winch installed

The folks over at Quad Crazy tested out one of our biggest, baddest winches: the ProMark 4500 lb Outback Series ATV / UTV winch with synthetic winch rope.

Best known for its bragging rights and grunt power, the 4500 Outback winch is “a beast for my Yamaha Grizzly, or any ATV out there,” says Alex Malichek of Quad Crazy. “I’ve had my older 1500 lb winch on for a few years now and it was time to upgrade it after having the steel cable snap on it recently. I also wanted to try out a synthetic line instead of a steel line.”

Winching the quad uphill

Installation was quick and easy. Alex used the winch plate already mounted on his quad, which matched up perfectly with the 4-bolt ProMark winch. The winch kit also came with updated electrical wiring. But what excited Alex most about the winch upgrade? “The new thing I have now though…is a remote! A 10′ corded remote came with this package.

“The outlet for the remote can be mounted anywhere on the ATV; I opted to mount it in the rear plastic, behind the seat, under the rack. It comes with a waterproof rubber cover, for when not in use (In the video I shot, I use the remote to control the winch up the hill). The switch mounts on the handlebar and in my opinion is a nice rocker style switch vs. some of the other ones on the market. The solenoid, I mounted under the seat, in the rear compartment.”

ATV quad winched to top of hill

After installing his new winch setup, Alex said, “Very impressive winch, once finally on. With no winter snow here and all mud spots are low or frozen, I really didn’t have many options to test this out these past few weeks. Although I was able to test the sheer pulling strength by yanking some smaller trees out of the ground that my older winch just couldn’t do…that was pretty fun. I also wanted to see how it would pull my quad up a hill, that I couldn’t ride up, without flipping. My quad is only 650lbs, so this was cake for this winch.

“The geartrain and ratio on this winch are impressively felt over my older winch as you can see from the video. You can just hear and feel its strength! Pulling is no problem, I’ll post some more videos once we get some snow and I can get her stuck or help pull some people out! So far, I’m in love with this winch.”

We’re looking forward to some real-world testing of this ProMark Outback winch, once the snow hits! You can see Alex’s full review on the Quad Crazy website.

IMPORTANT: Please note that although this video is an impressive example of how much a winch can pull, ProMark Offroad does not endorse improper or dangerous winching techniques. Never wrap a winch cable around a hitch ball or hook the cable back onto itself. We also recommend holding on to the hook strap rather than the hook. For safe winching techniques, please see our article on Winch Recovery Rigging or refer to your winch instruction manual.

Winch installation

I got my hands on a new ProMark 3000lb XT Series ATV Winch from the folks over at www.promarkoffroad.com, and I must say that, I was impressed from the moment it arrived. Besides the impressive box, easy to read instructions, and included hardware, this winch just looks like a heavy duty and well designed product. Inside the box was the roller fairlead, rubber stopper, contactor, thumb switch, hook with strap, hardware, and a corded remote! All that was needed additional, was a bracket for my 2006 Yamaha Grizzly, which was available right on their site.

Winch testing

INSTALLATION

Installing the ProMark Winch was easy enough. I did it before going out to the field, in the back of my Dodge Ram pick-up! A few tools I had in my box got the job done. The hardest part was removing some of my factory plastic. The bracket mounted right up to my stock frame and the winch right up to the bracket, without an issue. If you know the difference between your positive and negative battery terminals, you’ll have no problem hooking this up. I ran the wires up the middle and under the seat, to the battery, and hooked up the switch to my handlebars. It was a breeze.

THE FIRST TEST

Winch controls

I rode my 2006 Yamaha Grizzly out into a wooded, but open area, to run some small tests with this winch. Operation was very good for a traditional winch. I especially like how smooth the cable turns out in the free wheel/spin mode. Engaging this is easy and the switch is located on the side of the winch. Putting it in this mode allows you to pull out the cable without hassle. I ran it in and out a few times to check out the motor operation and to see if there was any heat coming off of it, which there wasn’t. I roped the line around a couple of trees and pulled the Grizzly without any issue, up the hill and tested it letting the winch out slowly back down. The winch motor sounds strong and smooth, giving me no concerns.

ATV hanging from tree

I hadn’t planned to get out in the mud yet (maybe for my next report), so I thought to myself…How could I really test this thing out? I decided that a good test would be to rope my Grizzly to a tree and see about lifting it off the ground. I know, sounds crazy, and when will this actually apply, but why not. So I let out the winch cable and chucked it over a thick branch and around a tree, probably about 15 feet off the ground. (Don’t try this at home and wear safety equipment and protective gear!) I began to pull my 600 lb (dry weight) 2006 Yamaha Grizzly toward the tree, by engaging the winch switch I mounted on the left handle bar. As I got closer to the tree, the front end started to rise. I proceeded to pull the winch cable in and my quad up the tree. It was now about 70 degrees up in the air! I kept going until it was vertical and back tires off the ground! I forgot to get off…What a site…hung my quad off a tree…it was a first for me. I finally let it down after looking at it for a few minutes hanging there. By no means do I suggest for anyone to do something like this with their quad! Nevertheless, it’s a good test for me. I let out enough cable slack to get the hook to slide down toward me and unhook it. I inspected the cable, hook, winch, bracket, and frame. No issues at all. All looked great. At least I know that on my next run, this winch will pull my ATV without a problem.

3000 lb winch installed

FINAL NOTES

This $199 ProMark winch replaced my older Warn 2500 winch that I believe cost me upwards of $400 or so at the time. You would think that the cost difference would show in the product, but I really can’t tell you what the higher priced Warn will give you over the ProMark. The ProMark winch works very well and is definitely worth the money. I’ll be testing this winch out more on the trails and I’ll be sure to report back. Happy Trails!

VIDEO

You’ll find winch videos featuring everything from the 1500 lb winch for smaller ATVs to the 4500 lb heavy duty winch for UTVs and side by sides. See the 4500 lb Outback Winch video below!

“About a year ago I ordered a Winch from Ebay called the Gorilla [now ProMark Offroad]. It worked excellent for a year but then I had some problems with it. I sent a youtube video into Gorilla [now ProMark Offroad] explaining my problem. They responded fast, sent me parts and instructions, and now I have an excellent working Winch!”

Watch the video now!